Chapter 7
"And just then, I pushed Jak to safety as the car exploded in a fiery inferno!" Daxter was standing on the bar telling his tall tales again, with a large beer in on hand. He splashed it around slightly as he told finished off his story. Everyone had gathered at the Bloody Hook to celebrate their victory. They had won the championship and discovered Mizo was G.T. Blitz the entire time, more importantly though, they each received an antidote. They were all alive and relieved from the burning within them that once signified their death at any given moment. Thankfully that moment would never come.
"Wow! Great story, Dax" cheered on Sig. Sig always enjoyed listening to Daxter's stories and humor. Sometimes it made people wonder if he enjoyed Daxter's company more than Jak did.
"Great racing everyone" Torn added to the cheering as everyone laughed.
Keira was sitting on the bar with Jak in front of her, his arms straddling her. Samos walked towards them and with a proud smile he said, "Wonderful driving!"
"Thanks" Jak said confidently. He thought that Samos was complimenting his driving but instead he was complimenting his daughter's, "I was talking to my daughter" and both Jak and Keira nodded with approval.
Rayn walked up to the laughing group, "Well, everyone, I must be on my way. Thank you all for helping me take out my father's enemies. This town will be a better place for it. And thank you Jak... for showing me the light"
Jak shared a friendly hug with Rayn as he said to her, "Take care". Keira then felt a slight jolt of jealousy run through her, after all Jak hadn't even hugged her after all these events and here he was hugging someone else. Why is it so easy to hug the people that don't need the hugs and not the one you should be hugging? So naïve Jak, as always…She thought to herself while shaking off the insecure thoughts.
"Be better than your father" Sig added as Rayn walked away from them, hiding the sly grin upon her face that no one would ever know.
"You know, that old girl ain't so bad" Daxter said. He then realized that she had left behind her father's will that was recorded on a data pad. "Hey, she forgot Krew's diary" As Daxter picked it up, a hologram of Krew popped up from it.
"Hello Rayn dear... so it's out little secret, eh? Just pour into your glass first... Three seconds and no more and yours will have no poison. The rest will get a full dose. Ha, ha, ha, haa... Then we'll take down that miserable Mizo and be the top crime family in Kras City! I only wish I could be there to give you a big hug! Like father, like daughter eh?" the image of Krew still disgusted Daxter even after his death. Daxter cringed while the others stood in awe as they watched this discovery.
"Oh my god" Jak's mouth hung open.
Just then Daxter smashed he data pad on the bar, stomping his furry feet on it harshly. It broke into several green and silver metal pieces beneath his feet as he spat at it, "Well let's see how you like that you fat, nasty, son of a…" his curses trailed off.
Torn was behind the bar with Ashelin in his arms, "Who woulda thunk?"
"Well, if you'd all been thinking with your... heads." Ashelin playfully walked her fingers up Torn's shirt and then flicked him in the face when he looked down. Keira had to resist from cringing at the sight of them, not that it disgusted her but she wished that she were having that kind of moment with Jak. She silently decided to herself that she was tired of waiting for that kind of moment. It was time to make it happen. She brought her hand up to Jak's chin, still hung open in shock and closed his jaw. She turned his face to look at hers and it seemed as if he realized in an instant what the lusty look in her emerald eyes meant. He grinned at her mischievously, getting pulled deeper into the moment that Keira was creating for them.
"Yeah, Jak! The important this is we won.. and we're alive" Daxter's mood returned to a good one as he continued to yell from excitement of their victory.
"And we brought down that scumbag Mizo!" as usual Sig joined in the ottsel's rants.
"And we rocked the racing circuit, right Jak! I said, right Jak!"
As Daxter was yelling for Jak's attention he failed to realize that Jak's attention had been caught in Keira's seductive gaze. She had removed her hand from his face so that they can lose themselves in their gazes. She could hardly contain herself from wanting to be closer to him, wanting to feel him on her. Jak stared at the turquoise girl in front of him and felt the same way she was. He hadn't really let his feelings for her take too much control during the racing events because he felt he needed to keep his focus but now that it was all over he was free to lose himself to her. He felt hypnotized by her and he didn't hear Daxter's yelling until he screamed louder and cut them off.
"Hey!"
Jak and Keira turned to scowl at him. Keira's scowl looked twice as threatening as Jak's. Daxter then realized maybe he had interrupted something more than a kiss between them. After all he hadn't really seen them interact at all since a little while before the racing events and it just got worse once they came to Kras City. He wasn't a relationship expert but he sensed that if he didn't allow them this crucial moment, it might not only be the end of him in Keira's angry hands but them as well. He decided to encourage them to prevent his own life being at stake.
"Will you kiss her already! Sheeeesh!"
Kiera couldn't resist her urges any longer. As Jak's attention was still fixed on the orange ottsel, she almost harshly grabbed the collar to his jacket and pulled him up to her. It was a daring move but after how long it had been and all the events that had taken place, she didn't really care. She couldn't remember the last time they had kissed and she so desperately needed to remember what it felt like. She pressed her lips firmly against his and his eyes widened with surprise. He expected to kiss her but he hadn't anticipated that it would happen this way. He could sense the need from her and closed his eyes in defeat, pressing his lips back on hers. He almost felt a feeling of relief spreading through the both of them as they did this. As Keira finally backed away Daxter was finally able to cut in with a comment "Oh yeah... that's what I call a photo finish!" and he took another gulp of his beer.
Everyone laughed again at his comment, especially Keira. She felt the happiness exploding within her after she had kissed him and Jak willingly accepted. She hoped she didn't come on too strongly but with the grin on his face she guessed that he was just as content with it as she was. Still even though they had shared a kiss, what was between them was far from settled. What was going to happen between them when they got to Haven City? As far as she knew Jak still lived with her upstairs from the garage but a few months before coming to Kras City Jak had become more occupied with his missions and traveling. Eventually she rarely saw him and when she did, it was to repair something of his. He had stopped coming to her bedside and when she woke up she wouldn't even be sure if he had come during the night or not. She would find a blanket on the couch and dirty plates in the sink as if he had come to sleep in the living room and left in a rush as he usually did. This disappointed her, living with someone that she didn't even see and what she saw was just the after signs of his presence. Still she tried to understand because she knew that so many people depended on him and he had a lot on his shoulders. Either way it still bothered her and she began to wonder to herself why he couldn't at least wake her before he left or at least let her know he had stopped by after disappearing for days or even weeks at a time. As time went on she even stopped doing the little things she used to do for him, trying to catch his attention. She used to leave him leftover food in the fridge with little post-its and she stopped that, hoping he'd at least become worried enough to question her. But he never did and once again she became disappointed. They always acted as if nothing was wrong when they met and it almost seemed as if they had transformed from what seemed like the beginning of a blooming relationship, back into a friendship. It was like they had made a full circle backwards. Now she wasn't sure of anything. Just because they kissed didn't mean anything. The last thing she wanted was to go back to Haven City and return back to their ritual of practically living with someone who was like a ghost. It pained her deeply just thinking that that was what she was returning to. She knew she deserved better, she deserved someone to be there for her just like she's there for him. She needed to be loved the same way she loved that person even though she knew deep inside she could never love someone as much as she loved Jak. She wondered if he even realized this but since he was naïve at times when it came to her, she guessed he hadn't realized it at all.
Jak suddenly noticed the dazed look on Keira's face. Everyone was lost in their drunken laughter and here she was staring at nothing towards the other side of the room. Her expression was solemn and while he was smiling along with everyone else, it seemed her smile had faded some time ago and he hadn't realized. He gazed at her in worry but she didn't even stir. She was so lost in thought that she didn't feel his eyes on her. He leaned in closer to her and whispered, "Keira?" but still she didn't respond. He raised his brows in awe that she was so lost in herself that she didn't even hear him talking to her. He brought up his masculine hand to cup her chin and she jumped at his touch. She let out an almost frightened gasp but he continued anyway. He continued to turn her face to look at him and once her lost gaze was on him he raised his hand up to brush against her cheek. He spoke again, still with a worried tone, "Keira…You ok?"
She nodded and a forced smile spread on her face. He knew it couldn't possibly be real. She placed her hand on top of his still on her cheek, "I think I just wanna go home now. I'm kind of tired"
He turned to face everyone else and announced, "Alright everyone, we've been out long enough. Time to get back home" and everyone cheered at his announcement. By the time he turned to face her again she had already slid off the bar to stand, unwillingly escaping his grasp. He was still worried but began to brush it off, maybe she was just tired.
They headed to their vehicles in silence and Daxter blurted out as they started their engines, "To Haven we go! Wooooh! I'm coming Tessy baby, I'm coming home!" Everyone grinned at one another and began to drive off, following each other's vehicles. Samos had already sat in with Sig and fell asleep. Jak turned just before Keira drove off in front of him, seeing that her smile still had not returned. He continued to drive anyway. They had been away from Haven long enough.
As Keira drove into the night, she felt the cool wind blow painfully on her pale skin. It cooled off the stinging burn she held in her eyes. Time to go back to Haven. Time to go back to living with a ghost… It seemed she had lost hope in a matter of minutes in the Bloody Hook and decided to herself that there was nothing much to go back to in Haven. She was already expecting them same exact thing that was there before, a relationship full of doubts. She was already beginning to feel the anger and defeat growing within her and unwillingly in the back of her mind she vowed to find a man that knew what she was worth.
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So feel better now? Spoiled ya again with two chapters and my next one is already half way done. Yup this story's gonna be longer than my first fic YAY. So Keira doesn't seem too happy now that the racing events are over…hmm…as usual I leave you in suspense MUAHAHAHA::offers another peace huggie before getting attacked:
